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An east London man being treated in hospital for Lassa fever has died.

The 66-year-old died on Thursday afternoon following a sudden deterioration in his condition, a spokesman from London’s Royal Free Hospital said.

The pensioner, who has not been identified, was admitted to the hospital last week.

A hospital spokesman said: “We can confirm that the 66-year-old Lassa fever patient admitted to the high security infectious diseases unit at the Royal Free Hospital last week died at 4.30pm today of complications due to his illness.”

The man had been travelling in Nigeria prior to his admission to the hospital. His next of kin have been informed.

A spokeswoman from the Health Protection Agency said there was no risk of contamination to the public.

Lassa fever is caused by the Lassa virus and is endemic in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and the Central African Republic.

Hundreds of thousands of people are infected in these countries each year and isolated cases have been seen in Europe and the US.

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Infection also occurs in other African countries including Mali, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

About eight in 10 people infected with Lassa virus develop mild or no symptoms, but in 20% of cases people will have severe illness. Symptoms include fever, headache, sore throat, a cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and muscle pain.